Poll

London property sales up amid strong demand from Asian buyers

Leading London-based estate agent Fraser & Co. has sold more than 160 new homes from some of the UK’s largest developers in January, thanks to massive interest from Far Eastern buyers...

That’s after London sales by the firm of around £130m, in partnership with its Far East associates, at property exhibitions in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore in the last three quarters of 2009.

Robert Fraser - Managing Director of Fraser & Co. - is a 27-year veteran of the industry, and has been selling UK homes in the Far East for 17 years.

He says Far-Eastern buyers are purchasing in London for various reasons: from providing their children with a place to live while they study, to pure investment.

“We’ve been managing a significant number of properties for Asian clients since the mid-90s and they’ve started purchasing again recently, believing that now is the time to increase their portfolios. Also, with a historically weak pound, a new generation of Asian buyers are acquiring properties through us, wanting to take advantage of a market they feel represents excellent value, and a safe haven for their capital.”

Some of the fastest-selling properties on Fraser’s books are within the re-generation scheme at Dalston Square, the re-development of the old Clerkenwell Courthouse in Islington, the Printworks in Elephant and Castle, and at Lanterns Court in Millharbour, Canary Wharf.

“The strong appreciation of property values in Asia, combined with buyers’ increasing liquidity, UK capital gains tax exemption and a strengthening UK lettings market will make 2010 a great year for foreigners to invest in UK properties,” Fraser adds.